OSTON — Friday, September 29, 2017 • 7:00 p. m. • Richard Kelley, trumpet, and composer/organist Richard J. Clark team up again at St. Cecilia Church, Boston in a concert of American composers Clark, Hovhaness, Pinkham, and Sowerby. This concert offers Boston audiences a preview of their upcoming performance at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New…
Author: Richard J. Clark
“That’s not Eucharistic” • Why We Sing the Communion Antiphons
NE SUDAY I received (through a third party, of course) a complaint about what the choir had been singing during communion. We frequently included the proper communion antiphon. The criticism was terse: “That’s not Eucharistic.” Correct. It was not. Well, not directly or in an obvious manner. But it was. During the 1990s, my choir…
National Anthem • Choral Arrangement for Fenway Park
RECENTLY, THE SAINT CECILIA PARISH CHOIR, Boston, sang The Star-Spangled Banner at Fenway Park prior to a Red Sox game. I took the opportunity to customize an arrangement that was not only well-suited to the strengths of this choir, but hopefully expresses the dignity, reverence, and passion worthy of our great country. At the very…
Pastorally Imperative: They are all we have.
ARDINAL SEÁN P. O’Malley, OFM, Cap. recently ordained eight men to the Priesthood on Saturday, May 20, 2017, at Immaculate Conception Church in Lowell, Massachusetts. (The Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston is currently under renovation.) Please pray for these new priests! Fr. Jason Rinaldo Giombetti, Fr. Pablo Gomis, Fr. Kevin Paul Leaver, Fr….
I Am the Land: A Poem in Memory of Óscar Romero • E. Ethelbert Miller & Richard J. Clark
MARCH 24TH marks the anniversary of the assassination of Saint Óscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador. On Sunday, March 23, 1980, the day before his assassination, Romero addressed the soldiers in his homily: “En nombre de Dios, pues, y en nombre de este sufrido pueblo, cuyos lamentos suben hasta el cielo cada día más tumultuosos,…
Communion Antiphons for Lent & Easter • NEW • World Library Publications
I AM PLEASED to announce the release of my Communion Antiphons for Easter with World Library Publications. These thirteen antiphons are set from the English translation of the Roman Missal, Third Edition. All the verses set are those prescribed by Graduale Romanum. On a personal note, this is perhaps my favorite collection to date. You…
Nuptial Blessings • Practice Videos • Order of Celebrating Matrimony
R. JONATHAN GASPAR of the Archdiocese of Boston has kindly recorded the Nuptial Blessings of The Order of Celebrating Matrimony. The new English translation is according to the Second Latin Typical Edition, 1991. This revised rite has been mandatory for use as of December 30, 2016, the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary,…
Sacred Music for Christmas on “Sounds from the Spires”
RECENTLY joined Dr. Jennifer Pascual, Director of Music for Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, on her program Sounds from the Spires. I am very fortunate to have been on the show several times. This will explain any drop in the ratings. Pascual’s weekly show can be heard on SIRIUSXM 129 Radio, The Catholic Channel, Saturday, 11pm-12am, Sunday, 6am-7am…
The Seraphim Singers Premiere “I Am the Land: A Poem in Memory of Óscar Romero” • E. Ethelbert Miller & Richard J. Clark
ENNIFER LESTER, director of The Seraphim Singers, molds highly adventuresome programming through faith and personal conviction. Seraphim’s upcoming program “Oppression, Exile, and Solidarity” will be another strong statement, musically and socially. From their website: This concert of musical works bearing witness and standing with human suffering includes James MacMillan’s Cantos Sagrados, on Argentina’s Dirty War;…
The Unhealthy Liturgical Obsession with Self
N OBSESSION with self-affirmation can lead to problems in everyday life. Those who do not need it, even in the face of adversity and criticism, tend to be happiest. (This is no easy thing and requires a lifetime of struggle.) Those who are in service to others tend to also be happiest. But those who…